Barcode access to electronic resources for lifecycle tracking of complex system parts

ABSTRACT

A method is provided that includes locating a barcode applied to a part of a complex system. The barcode may encode links to respective system-related resources for the part, which may include software-based systems and/or electronic documents. At one or more instances during a lifecycle of the part, then, the method may include scanning the barcode, and decoding the links from the barcode. The method may include displaying the links in a graphical user interface, and affecting navigation of at least one of the links through the graphical user interface to access a respective at least one of the system-related resources for the respective part.

TECHNOLOGICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates generally to access to electronicresources such as software-based systems and documents and, inparticular, to barcode access to system-related resources forcomplex-system parts.

BACKGROUND

In many companies that manufacture or use complex systems, electronicresources for those complex systems and their components, subsystems andparts (generally “elements” or “parts”) may be spread over a number oflocations, databases and the like. In the context of an aerospacecompany, for example, suitable resources may include documents such asengineering diagrams, technical drawings, wiring diagrams, and othersuitable documents. These system-related resources are often usedthroughout manufacturing and service of a complex system. And thedistributed manner by which resources are maintained often requires asearcher to extensively search across a number of hosts to locatedesired resources for a specific complex system or part, which may betime consuming, inefficient and costly.

Moreover, system-related documents are often created to be viewed inprinted form. However, such documents are commonly stored in electronicform and viewed on a display device of a data processing system. As aresult, the reader looks through different documents that may be ondifferent types of media. This type of review may be more time-consumingthan desired to find information about a complex system or part.

System-related documents for a complex system such as an aircraft maycontain large amounts of information regarding the complex system andits parts, and the connections and relationships among the respectiveparts. The complexity of the system and the large amount of informationoften required to describe the system may increase not only the timerequired to study the documents, but the difficulty in comprehending thecomplex system and its parts. A user may not only require the time toreview documents containing large amounts of information, but may alsorequire the time and endure the difficulty of studying the informationto understand the ways in which the complex system and its parts relateto each other.

Product life cycle managers are confronted with how to manage and sharelarge amounts of system-related documents for a complex system amongsttheir organization efficiently and consistently. The multipleindependent systems currently used often inhibit knowledge capture andcollaboration, and reduce opportunities to improve and transform productofferings. Needed are ways to access product-related design, productionand maintenance information, while accommodating a business climate thatis made of global teams, complex products, cross-functional processes,and expanded markets. Challenges remain to provide tools to access lifecycle data and information, and facilitate easier communication amongstthose working on or with a product.

Therefore, it may be desirable to have a method and apparatus that takesinto account at least some of the issues discussed above, as well aspossibly other issues.

BRIEF SUMMARY

Example implementations of the present invention are generally directedto a system, method and computer-readable storage medium for barcodeaccess to electronic resources for lifecycle tracking of complex-systemparts. Example implementations allow a user to access suchsystem-related resources efficiently, inexpensively and withoutexpending an unnecessarily large amount of time. Various system-relatedresources may be accessed throughout the lifecycle of a part, which mayinclude pre-production, production or post-production of a complexsystem on which the part is installed for at least a period of time, aswell as some time after removal of the part from the complex system.These system-related resources may include technical records such asmaintenance records, repair records and the like, which may be accessedand updated throughout the lifecycle of the part. In the particularcontext of aircraft, this may facilitate compliance with FAArequirements such as its Aging Aircraft Safety Rule (AASR).

According to one aspect of example implementations, the method includeslocating a barcode applied to a part of a complex system. The barcodemay encode links to respective system-related resources for the part,which may include software-based systems and/or electronic documents. Atone or more instances during a lifecycle of the part, then, the methodmay include scanning the barcode, and decoding the links from thebarcode. The method may include displaying the links in a graphical userinterface, and affecting navigation of at least one of the links throughthe graphical user interface to access a respective at least one of thesystem-related resources for the respective part.

In one example, the method further includes generating and applying thebarcode to the part during pre-production, production or post-productionof the complex system.

In one example, scanning the barcode, decoding the links, displaying thelinks and affecting navigation of at least one of the links occursduring production of the complex system. In this example, thesystem-related resources may include at least one of a design record,manufacturing record, receiving record, installation instructions andrecord, rework record or testing record.

In one example, scanning the barcode, decoding the links, displaying thelinks and affecting navigation of at least one of the links occursduring maintenance or service of the complex system. In this example,the system-related resources may include at least one of a maintenancerecord or repair record. And affecting navigation of at least one of thelinks may include affecting navigation of at least one of the links toaccess and enable an update to the at least one of the maintenancerecord or repair record consistent with maintenance and serviceactivities performed on the complex system.

In one example, scanning the barcode, decoding the links, displaying thelinks and affecting navigation of at least one of the links occursduring maintenance or service of the complex system. In this example,the system-related resources may include at least one of an illustratedparts catalog, part information system, spare-part management system orpart supplier system. And affecting navigation of at least one of thelinks may include affecting navigation of at least one of the links toenable determination of an availability of a replacement or spare part,or a suitable substitute part, for the part to which the barcode isapplied.

In one example, displaying the links further includes displaying a userinterface control through which an indication of removal of the partfrom the complex system on which the part is installed for at least someperiod of time. In this example, the user interface control may link toa software-based maintenance system through which one or more technicalrecords for the part or complex system are updateable.

In one example, scanning the barcode, decoding the links, displaying thelinks and affecting navigation of at least one of the links occurs afterremoval from the part from the complex system on which the part isinstalled for at least some period of time. In this example, thesystem-related resources may include at least one of a maintenancerecord or repair record. And affecting navigation of at least one of thelinks may include affecting navigation of at least one of the links toaccess and enable an update to the at least one of the maintenancerecord or repair record consistent with maintenance and serviceactivities performed on the complex system.

In other aspects of example implementations, a system andcomputer-readable storage medium are provided for barcode access toelectronic resources for lifecycle tracking of complex-system parts. Thefeatures, functions and advantages discussed herein may be achievedindependently in various example implementations or may be combined inyet other example implementations further details of which may be seenwith reference to the following description and drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWING(S)

Having thus described example implementations of the disclosure ingeneral terms, reference will now be made to the accompanying drawings,which are not necessarily drawn to scale, and wherein:

FIG. 1 is an illustration of a resource-access system in accordance withan example implementation;

FIG. 2 is an illustration of a front-end system in accordance with anexample implementation;

FIG. 3 is an illustration of a link management system in accordance withan example implementation;

FIG. 4 is an illustration of a panoptic visualization document layoutsystem that may correspond to a resource host system in accordance withan example implementation;

FIG. 5 is an illustration of a document database system that maycorrespond to a resource host system in accordance with an exampleimplementation;

FIG. 6 and FIGS. 7-9 depict an example portal and layout ofsystem-related pages that may be displayed, according to an exampleimplementation of the present disclosure; and

FIG. 10 is a flow diagram of an example aircraft production and servicemethodology, according to one example implementation.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Some implementations of the present disclosure will now be describedmore fully hereinafter with reference to the accompanying drawings, inwhich some, but not all implementations of the disclosure are shown.Indeed, various implementations of the disclosure may be embodied inmany different forms and should not be construed as limited to theimplementations set forth herein; rather, these example implementationsare provided so that this disclosure will be thorough and complete, andwill fully convey the scope of the disclosure to those skilled in theart. For example, unless otherwise indicated, reference something asbeing a first, second or the like should not be construed to imply aparticular order. Also, something may be described as being abovesomething else (unless otherwise indicated) may instead be below, andvice versa; and similarly, something described as being to the left ofsomething else may instead be to the right, and vice versa. Likereference numerals refer to like elements throughout.

Example implementations of the present invention relate generally tobarcode access to electronic resources for a complex system. Moreparticularly, various example implementations relate to access to suchelectronic resources for the complex system from one or more resourcehosts via one or more links provided by a barcode located on the complexsystem. Example implementations will be primarily described inconjunction with aerospace applications. It should be understood,however, that example implementations may be utilized in conjunctionwith a variety of other applications, both in the aerospace industry andoutside of the aerospace industry. Access to electronic resources suchas accurate parts information across industries is important because itcan impact multiple aspects of equipment operations, includingmaintenance, materials-inventory management, purchasing and procurement,engineering support, logistics planning, shipping and receiving, andwarehouse facilities management.

Referring now to FIG. 1, a resource-access system 100 is illustratedaccording to example implementations of the present disclosure. Thesystem may include any of a number of different subsystems (each anindividual system) for performing one or more functions or operationswith respect to one or more electronic resources for a complex systemsuch as an aircraft or any of a number of other physical structures. Asshown, for example, the system may include a front-end system 102, linkmanagement system 104 and one or more resource host systems 106. Invarious examples in the context of an aircraft, the resource hostsystems may be provided or otherwise maintained by a system integrator,third party and/or operator (e.g., customer). A system integrator mayinclude for example any number of aircraft manufacturers andmajor-system subcontractors; a third party may include for example anynumber of vendors, subcontractors and suppliers; and an operator mayinclude for example an airline, leasing company, military entity,service organization or the like.

It should be understood that although the resource host system(s) 106are shown separate from the front-end system 102 and link managementsystem 104, in various examples, either or both the front-end system orlink management system may include one or more resource host systems. Itshould also be understood that while the front-end system, linkmanagement system and resource host system(s) are shown as part of theresource-access system 100, one or more of the respective systems mayinstead be separate from but in communication with the resource-accesssystem. Further, it should be understood that one or more of thesubsystems may function or operate as a separate system without regardto others of the subsystems. And it should be understood that theresource-access system may include one or more additional or alternativesubsystems than those shown in FIG. 1.

A complex system may be generally composed of one or more components,subsystems and the like (each generally referred to as a “subsystem”),with each subsystem being composed of one or more parts, and each partincluding one or more features. In this regard, the parts of the complexsystem may be assembled into a number of subsystems, which in turn maybe assembled into the complex system. In the context of an aircraft, oneor more parts or subsystems may be designed as a modular component ofthe aircraft often referred to as a line-replaceable unit (LRU), ofwhich a single aircraft may include a number of LRUs and other parts orsubsystems. Any of the complex system itself or any of its subsystems,parts (of subsystems), features (of parts) or the like may at times begenerally referred to as an “element” or “part” of the complex system.

Again, electronic resources may include those for a complex system.These “system-related” resources may include, for example,software-based systems, electronic documents (or simply documents) andthe like. Suitable software-based systems may include, for example,database management systems, resource-planning systems, productionmanagement systems, maintenance systems and the like, which in thecontext of an aircraft, may include TRAX, AMOS, SAP and the like. Inanother example, software-based systems may include part informationsystems, spare-part management systems (e.g., database managementsystems), part supplier systems and the like.

System-related documents may include design documents such as, forexample, engineering diagrams, technical drawings (e.g., originalequipment manufacturer—OEM—drawings), wiring diagrams and the like.These documents may also include maintenance documents and/or operationsdocuments (either generally referred to as a “maintenance document”).Examples of suitable aircraft maintenance documents include an aircraftillustrated parts catalog (AIPC), aircraft flight manual (AFM), aircraftmaintenance manual (AMM), aircraft recovery manual (ARM), airworthinessdirective (AD), component maintenance manual (CMM), componentmaintenance manual parts list (CMMIPL), configuration change supportdata (CCSD), configuration deviation list (CDL), consumable productsmanual (CPM), engine (shop) manual (EM), engineering drawings (ED),equipment list (EL), dispatch deviation guide (DDG), engine cleaninginspection and repair manual (CIR), engine illustrated parts catalog(EIPC), engine parts configuration management section (EPCM), faultrepair manual (FRM), fault reporting and fault isolation manual(FRM/FIM), flight crew operations manual (FCOM), general maintenancemanual (GMM), illustrated tool and equipment manual (ITEM), in-serviceactivity report (ISAR), maintenance planning document (MPD), maintenancereview board report (MRB), maintenance synoptics, maintenance tips (MT),maintenance training manual (MTM), master minimum equipment list (MMEL),non-destructive testing manual (NDT), power plant build-up manual(PPBM), power plant build-up manual illustrated parts list (PPBMIPL),production management database (PMDB), service bulletin (SB), servicebulletin index (SBI), service letter (SL), structural repair manual(SRM), systems description section (SDS), system schematics manual(SSM), task card, tool and equipment manual (TEM), weight and balancemanual (WBM), wiring diagram manual (WDM) and the like.

In other examples, system-related documents may include technicalrecords for respective units of a complex system or its parts, which maysometimes be generally referred to as serialized parts. These technicalrecords may include design records, manufacturing records, receivingrecords, installation instructions and records, rework records, testingrecords, maintenance records, repair records and the like. Thesetechnical records may also include configuration records (e.g., videos,movies, photographs, models) for a complex system on which a serializedpart is installed at the system's time of delivery.

In accordance with example implementations, barcode(s) may be located onor proximate or otherwise applied to (generally “on”) complex-systempart(s). For example, barcode(s) may be printed on respective part(s),or printed on substrate(s) that may be affixed to or proximate therespective part(s). The barcode may be any of a number of differentmachine-readable codes capable of carrying information. In variousexamples, the barcode may be a linear barcode, or a matrix (2D) barcodesuch as a QR Code® (Quick Response Code), data matrix code or the like.In one example, the barcode may be part of a label that includes thebarcode, and possibly other visual information regarding thecomplex-system part such as one or more part identifiers (e.g., partname, part number, serial number), and/or coordinates of the part withinthe coordinate system of the complex system. The label, then, may belocated on or proximate the part. For example, the label may be printedon the part or a substrate that may be affixed to or proximate the part.

Each barcode may include encoded (and possibly also encrypted)information regarding a complex-system part. The barcode-encodedinformation may include, for example, one or more links via whichsystem-related resources for the part may be accessed. Examples ofsuitable links include uniform resource identifiers (URIs), uniformresource locators (URLs) and the like. A link may include a referencethat points to one or more system-related resources, and may alsoinclude textual label that describes the respective system-relatedresource. In one example, the reference may be formatted as or toinclude a request to a respective resource host system 106 forsystem-related resource(s) for the respective complex-system part, whichmay vary in form depending on the resource host system. The link maygenerally point to one or more system-related resource(s) for a part, ormay more specifically point (e.g., deep link) to a specificsystem-related resource. In addition to the barcode-encoded link(s), thebarcode-encoded information may include other information regarding thepart such as the part identifier, and/or coordinates of the part.

The front-end system 102 of the resource-access system 100 may begenerally configured to read and the barcode located on a complex-systempart, and decode links to respective system-related resources for therespective part from the barcode. In addition to these barcode-encodedlink(s)—at times herein referred to as standard links, the front-endsystem and/or link management system 104 may be configured to provideone or more custom links to system-related resources for the respectivepart. The front-end system may be configured to generate and causedisplay of a portal document (at times be generally referred to assimply a portal) that identifies the respective part and includesstandard and/or custom links to system-related resources. Thesystem-related resources may be hosted by one or more resource hostsystems 106, and may be accessed via links provided by the portal.

Any of a number of different system-related resources and resource hostsystems 106 may be contemplated by example implementations of thepresent disclosure. Examples of suitable resource host systems mayinclude those hosting software-based systems such as database managementsystems, resource-planning systems, production management systems,maintenance systems, part information systems, spare-part managementsystems, part supplier systems and the like.

As explained in greater detail below, one example of a suitable resourcehost system 106 may be a panoptic visualization document layout systemconfigured to panoptically arrange system-related documents in a mannerthat reflects logical relationships between their content. This type ofarrangement may enable a user to see the content in a single view, andin an arrangement that facilitates a better understanding of therelationships between the content, which may be otherwise difficult tocomprehend. In the context of a complex system such as an aircraftincluding a number of components, subsystems and parts, the arrangementmay not only lessen the time required to review documents containinglarge amounts of information, but may also lessen the time required andease the difficulty studying the information to understand the ways inwhich the complex system and its parts relate to each other.

Another example of a suitable resource host system 106 is a documentdatabase system in which system-related documents may be stored in oneor more databases, alone or along with other data. The document databasesystem may be generally configured to create and manage database(s) ofsystem-related documents. In one example, these system-related documentsmay include documents that may be panoptically arranged, such as by asuitable panoptic visualization document layout system.

Reference will now be made to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4 and 5, which illustratemore particular examples of a suitable front-end system, link managementsystem and two resource host systems, respectively, according to exampleimplementations of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 illustrates a front-end system 200 according to one exampleimplementation. As indicated above, the front-end system 200 may be oneexample of the front-end system 102 of the resource-access system 100 ofFIG. 1. As shown in FIG. 2, the front-end system may include a barcodereader 202 (sometimes referred to as a barcode scanner) coupled to afront-end engine 204. The barcode reader may be configured to scan abarcode located on a complex-system part. The barcode reader may includeany of a number of different types of readers or scanners capable ofreading the barcode. Examples of suitable types of barcode readersinclude pen-type readers, laser scanners, CCD readers, camera-basedreaders, omni-directional barcode scanners, cell-phone cameras,smartphones and the like.

The barcode may encode information for the complex-system part, and thebarcode reader 202 may include a decoder configured to decode therespective information. The front-end engine 204 coupled to the barcodereader may be configured to receive the information decoded by thebarcode reader, and identify the complex-system part from theinformation, which may also include standard links to system-relatedresources for the part.

In some examples, the barcode reader 202 or front-end engine 204 may beconfigured to verify the barcode or at least some of the barcodedinformation, such as against a known layout or format of thebarcode/barcoded information. This may reduce the likelihood of “attacktagging,” or one otherwise affixing a face barcode over a legitimate,verifiable barcode.

In various examples, the barcode or at least some of the barcode-encodedinformation may be encrypted, such as in accordance with any of a numberof different symmetric-key or public-key encryption techniques. In theseexamples, the barcode reader 202 or front-end engine 204 may be furtherconfigured to decrypt the barcode or barcode-encoded information, andmay solicit an appropriate credential (e.g., personal identificationnumber—PIN) from a user to enable the decryption.

In addition to or in lieu of standard links, the front-end engine 204may retrieve other, custom links to system-related resources for thepart on which the barcode is located. In various examples, the front-endengine may request one or more custom links from a link managementsystem (e.g., link management system 104) to which the front-end system200 may be coupled. In some examples, the request may identify theappropriate complex-system part, a user of the front-end system on whosebehalf the links are being requested, and/or other information regardingthe request. This other information may include, for example, a dateand/or time at which the barcode reader 202 scanned the barcode, and/ora location of the front-end system at the respective date/time. Thefront-end system may in these examples include an appropriate calendar,clock and/or location-determination (e.g., GPS) modules.

In addition to or in lieu of custom links from a link management system,the front-end engine 204 may retrieve one or more custom links from arespective storage 206 resident or in communication with the front-endsystem. The custom links may be formatted and stored in any of a numberof different manners, and hence, their storage may be of any of a numberof different types. Examples of suitable types of storage include filestorage, database storage, cloud storage and the like.

The front-end engine 204 may be configured to generate a portal thatidentifies the complex-system part on which the barcode is located, andincludes standard links (decoded from the barcode) and/or custom linksto system-related resources for the respective part. In one example, thefront-end engine may generate the portal as a webpage including links inthe form of hyperlinks to system-related resources.

The portal may identify the complex-system part in a number of differentmanners. For example, the portal may identify the part by part name,part number and/or serial number. The portal may also include otherinformation for the complex-system part. For example, the portal mayinclude coordinates of the part within the coordinate system of thecomplex system. The portal may include media content (e.g., diagrams,drawings, still images, videos) that depicts the part and/or itslocation within the complex system. The front-end engine 204 may evenaccess and include a system-related resource directly in the portal, inlieu of a link to the respective resource. As suggested above, some ofthis information may be barcode-encoded along with standard links tosystem-related resources. In various examples, some of this informationmay be maintained in a respective storage 208 (e.g., file storage,database storage, cloud storage) resident or in communication with thefront-end system.

The front-end engine 204 may be configured to cause display of theportal in a graphical user interface (GUI) 210 through which thestandard and/or custom links are navigable to access respectivesystem-related resources for the complex-system part. The GUI may beprovided by the front-end engine or an appropriate viewer, which may bepart of or otherwise in communication with the front-end system. In oneexample in which the portal is a webpage, the front-end engine maycommunicate the portal webpage to an appropriate web browser (viewer)configured to provide a suitable GUI within which the portal webpage maybe displayed. As described herein, then, one or more functions describedas being performed by or through the front-end engine or GUI may invarious examples be more particularly performed by an appropriateviewer.

The portal may be displayed to a user who may navigate its links torespective system-related resources, which may be thereby retrievablethrough the GUI 210 for use by the user. For example, the viewerproviding the GUI may receive selection of a link through the GUI, andcommunicate a request for a respective system-related resource to anappropriate resource host system (e.g., resource host system 106), whichmay return the requested resource back to the viewer for display by theGUI. The viewer or front-end engine 204 may coordinate user interactionwith respective system-related resource. The viewer or front-end enginemay not only affect the download (retrieval) of a system-relatedresource from a resource host system, but may affect the upload(insertion) of a system-related resource to a resource host system.

In various examples in which a system-related resource is accessrestricted, the front-end engine 204 may be configured to fully orpartially automate authentication and authorization of the user toaccess the resource, such as based on pre-supplied a user credential. Inthis regard, the front-end engine may fully automate authentication andauthorization without user intervention. Or the front-end engine maypartially automate authentication and authorization, such as bysoliciting and coordinating submission of the user credential to theresource host system). This may include in any of a number of differenttypes of access to system-related resources at resource host systems,such as security-appliance (e.g., firewall) access, cut-through proxy,virtual private network (VPN) tunnel access or the like.

In some examples, a custom link to a system-related resource may beadded or deleted through the front-end engine 204. Similarly,system-related resource may be added to or deleted from a resource hostsystem (e.g., resource host system 106) through the front-end engine,which may result in an additional or broken custom link. For theaddition of a system-related resource, the front-end system may requestthe addition of an appropriate custom link from the link managementsystem (e.g., link management system 104), or add it to respectivestorage 206. For deletion of a system-related resource, the front-endengine 204 may request deletion of the broken custom link from the linkmanagement system, or delete it from respective storage. In otherinstances in which the addition or deletion of a system-related resourcemay be affected directly at a resource host system, the appropriaterequest to add a custom link or delete a broken custom link may becommunicated from the respective resource host system to the front-endengine or link management system.

In some examples, it may be desirable to access a system-relatedresource via a custom link in lieu of a standard link to a similarsystem-related resource. In these examples, the custom link from thelink management system (e.g., link management system 104) or respectivestorage 206 may be accompanied by an instruction to direct a user from aparticular standard link to the respective custom link. The front-endengine 204 may replace the standard link with the respective custom linkwhen generating the portal. Or the front-end engine may redirect arequest to the standard link to the respective custom link instead.

As explained more generally below, an apparatus may be provided that isconfigured to function as or otherwise implement the front-end system200 and its respective elements. The apparatus may comprise, include orbe embodied in one or more fixed or portable, hardware-based electronicdevices (e.g., smartphone, tablet computer). For example, the barcodereader 202 and front-end engine 204 of the front-end system 200 may beimplemented by a hardware-based electronic device. The front-end systemmay be configured to communicate with a link management system (e.g.,link management system 104), which in one example may be remote from theelectronic device. The front-end engine may be configured to generate aportal including standard and/or custom links to system-relatedresources hosted by one or more resource host systems 106. In variousexamples, one or more custom links may be retrieved from the remote linkmanagement system, or respective storage 206 at the electronic device.And in one example, at least one of the resource host systems may alsobe implemented by the electronic device.

FIG. 3 illustrates a link management system 300 according to one exampleimplementation. The link management system 300 may be one example of thelink management system 104 of the resource-access system 100 of FIG. 1.As shown in FIG. 3, the link management system 300 may include amanagement engine 302 configured to receive a request for one or morelinks to system-related resources for a complex-system part, and inresponse, provide the respective link(s). The links may be maintained ina respective storage 302 (e.g., file storage, database storage, cloudstorage) resident or in communication with the link management system.And in various examples, the links may be custom links in addition tostandard links for system-related resources for a respective part.

In various examples, one or more links to system-related resources maybe access restricted. In these examples, the link management system 300may include or be coupled to an access-control system 306 configured todefine, enforce and/or administer access-control policies applicable tocertain, restricted link(s). The access-control system may be configuredto provide access control according to any of a number of differentaccess-control models. Examples of suitable access-control modelsinclude discretionary access control (DAC), mandatory access control(MAC), lattice-based access control (LBAC), role-based access control(RBAC), attribute-based access control (ABAC), usage control (UCON), orany of a number of other models based thereon.

The access-control system 306 may be generally configured to enforce oneor more access-control policies for one or more links. In one example,an access-control policy may be defined or otherwise generated for linksby application of one or more entitlements or other rules that grant oneor more users access to the link(s). An entitlement may generally grantaccess to a user requesting access to the link(s), which may berepresented by an identity. An identity may define a user in any of anumber of different manners. A user identity may include a uniqueidentifier (e.g., username, email address) and credential (e.g.,password, cryptographic key, security token). A user identity may alsoinclude one or more roles of the user. Additionally or alternatively, anidentity may include one or more attributes of the user such as coreattributes, context-specific attributes or the like. In these examples,an entitlement may directly grant access to the user based on theiridentifier/credentials, or directly grant access to the user based ontheir attribute(s) and/or role(s).

In the context of a system-related document for a complex system, forexample, entitlements may grant access to link(s) on one or more basessuch as organization, type of or individual complex system,complex-system part, maintenance task or the like. In this regard, auser affiliated with an organization may be restricted to only link(s)in which entitlements allow access to the respective organization, orperhaps to a type or individual complex system that may be associatedwith that particular organization. In another example, a user associatedwith complex-system part(s) with which the user is particularlyknowledgeable may be restricted to only those link(s) depicting therespective part(s).

The access-control system 306 may be configured to receive requests andmake decisions to grant or deny access to link(s) based on the policies.In one example, the access-control system may be coupled to themanagement engine 302 of the link management system 300, which may inturn be coupled to a front-end system such as the front-end system 102of FIG. 1, from which the access-control system may receive a request togrant a user access to one or more links. The request may identify therequesting user, and/or complex-system part for which link(s) are beingrequested. In one example, the request itself may include the requestinguser's identity, or enough of the identity (e.g.,identifier/credentials) that any other necessary parts of the identitymay be retrieved from an identity storage.

The access-control system 306 may retrieve one or more policiesapplicable to the requested link(s), and make a decision to grant ordeny the user access to the link(s) based on the policies and user'sidentity. The access-control system may then communicate the accessdecision back to the management engine 302 to act on the decision. Themanagement engine may provide a link-request response with links in aninstance in which the user is granted access, or a link-request responsewithout links in an instance in which the user is denied access. In oneexample in which the user is denied access to a link, the managementengine may instead provide the textual label part of the link thatdescribes a system-related resource, but without the reference thatpoints to the respective resource. The response may be provided to thefront-end system to include in a portal for the complex-system part. Theportal may include links (label and reference) to system-relatedresources for which the user is granted access, and in one example, mayinclude labels without respective references to system-related resourcesfor which the user is denied access.

In various examples, the management engine 302 may receive a linkrequest in each instance in which a barcode located on a complex-systempart is scanned. The link request may include information regarding therequest such as the date and/or time at which the front-end systemscanned the barcode, and/or the location of the front-end system at therespective date/time. In these examples, the management engine may beconfigured to maintain a log or other appropriate statistics regardingscans of particular barcodes. One example of a suitable log may identifya complex-system part, and include the date/time and/or location foreach instance of its barcode being scanned, and/or an identity of theuser that scanned the barcode. This log and other statistics may bemaintained in a respective storage 308 (e.g., file storage, databasestorage, cloud storage) resident or in communication with the linkmanagement system.

FIG. 4 illustrates a panoptic visualization document layout system 400that in various example implementations may correspond to a host system106. Similar to the resource-access system 100, the document layoutsystem may include any of a number of different subsystems (each anindividual system) for performing one or more functions or operationswith respect to one or more documents. In this regard, a document suchas a system-related document may be any electronic media content capableof being visualized in an electronic and/or printed (or printable) form.The media content of a document may include one or more of textual,graphical or other visual content such as still images, video or thelike. A document may be composed of one or more constituent documentcomponents that may be groupings of its media content such as betweenbasic breaking points. The document components may depend on the type ofdocument and may include, for example, electronic pages, slides,diagrams, drawings, still images, videos or the like. The documentcomponent may at times be generally referred to as a “page,” althoughthe document component need not necessarily be an electronic page as itmay include other types of components. In instances in which a documentincludes only one component, the document and its component may be oneand the same.

Each page may be formed of data from which a visual representation of it(or rather its media content) may be generated in an electronic and/orprinted (or printable) form. The visual representation of a page may attimes be generally referred to as simply the page or as an “image,”although the page need not necessarily include a still image as it mayinclude other types of media content.

A page may include media content that has one or more subjects andincludes one or more objects reflecting or otherwise forming thesubject(s). At times, a page may therefore be said to depict itssubject(s) and/or object(s) of its subject(s). As an example, a page mayhave an aircraft as its subject and include an exterior or interior viewor sections of the exterior/interior view of the aircraft as object(s),or the page may have the exterior/interior view as its subject andinclude the sections of the exterior view as objects. As anotherexample, a page may have an aircraft instrument panel as its subject andinclude gauges of the instrument panel as subjects.

A system-related document including system-related pages may generallyinclude any of a number of documents that visually depict (e.g.,graphically or textually) one or more complex-system parts. In someexamples, this depiction may include one or more maintenance oroperations tasks on or using such part(s) (either generally referred toas a “maintenance task”) such as for operation, installation,maintenance, repair, removal, replacement or testing of complex-systempart(s). A system-related document may be composed of one or more pagesincluding media content, which again may include textual, graphical(e.g., drawings) or other visual content. In one example, the mediacontent may include drawings and/or textual lists depicting one or morecomplex-system parts. In various examples, the media content may alsoinclude other information regarding the part(s).

For example, a page may include a drawing and/or textual list (mediacontent) of a complex system (subject) including multiple subsystems(objects), a subsystem (subject) including multiple parts (objects), ora part (subject) including one or more features (objects). Additionallyor alternatively, for example, a page may include a drawing and/ortextual instructions (media content) of a maintenance task (subject)including multiple subtasks (objects), a subtask (subject) includingmultiple maintenance actions (objects), or a maintenance action(subject/object).

In various example implementations, documents including system-relateddocuments and/or their pages may have one or more logical relationshipsbetween one another. In the context of a system-related document, forexample, pages sharing a common system-related document may be logicallyrelated, or pages adjacent one another in order sequence in a commonsystem-related document may be logically related. In other examples, thepages may be logically related according to one or more relationshipsbetween parts of the complex system depicted therein. Theserelationships may include, for example, spatial relationships, designrelationships (e.g., work breakdown structure (WBS), system function,design family), functional relationships or the like.

For example, pages depicting the same part (partially or completely) maybe logically related according to the spatial, design or functionalrelationship of depicting the same part. A page depicting the complexsystem may be logically related to pages depicting the complex system'ssubsystems, parts or features, according to spatial, design orfunctional relationships between the respective parts. In anotherexample, a page depicting a subsystem may be logically related to pagesdepicting the subsystem's parts or features, according to spatial,design or functional relationships between the respective parts. And inyet another example, a page depicting a part may be logically related topages depicting the part's features, according to spatial, design orfunctional relationships between the respective part and features.

In another example, a page depicting a part (partially or completely)may be logically related to a page depicting a maintenance task(partially or completely) performed on or using the respective part.Likewise, a page depicting a maintenance task (partially or completely)performed on or using a part may be logically related to a pagedepicting the respective part (partially or completely).

In yet another example, pages depicting the same maintenance task(partially or completely) may be logically related to one another. Pagesdepicting subtasks of the same maintenance task may be logically relatedto one another. Similarly, pages depicting actions of the same subtaskmay be logically related to one another. A page depicting a maintenancetask may be logically related to pages depicting the task's subtasks oractions. And a page depicting a subtask may be logically related topages depicting the subtask's actions.

The panoptic visualization document layout system 400 may be generallyconfigured to generate a layout of panoptically-arranged,logically-related pages. The document layout system may include a searchengine 402, request interface or the like configured to receive arequest (e.g., resource request) for depiction of a complex-system part,such as a drawing that graphically depicts the part, a textual list thattextually depicts the part and/or graphical or textual maintenancetask(s) performed on or using the part. The search engine may identifyone or more appropriate pages, which may be of a panoptic visualizationdocument collection having a plurality of pages each of which includesrespective media content and has associated metadata providinginformation about the respective page. This metadata may provide, forexample, information about the type of document of which the page is aconstituent, and/or information about media content of the page. Themetadata may provide information identifying links that establishlogical relationships between pages. The pages and metadata may bestored in respective storage 404, 406 (e.g., file storage, databasestorage, cloud storage).

The panoptic visualization document layout system 400 may also include alayout engine 408, layout generator or the like coupled to the searchengine 402 and configured to select a layout model and generate a layoutof pages including the identified page(s). In this regard, the layoutengine may be configured to retrieve the identified page(s), and mayalso retrieve one or more other pages identified according to theassociated metadata for the identified page, from respective storage404. The layout engine may then generate a layout of the retrievedpages, panoptically-arranged according to the selected layout model, andthe retrieved pages and their associated metadata. In addition toretrieving the pages, the layout engine of one example may also beconfigured to receive the associated metadata, such as from respectivestorage 406. The layout engine may then be configured to communicate thelayout, such as to a GUI in which a layout may be displayed, or aprinter for generating a printout of the layout. In one example, thelayout engine may generate a website including the layout, which may becommunicated to an appropriate viewer (e.g., web browser) configured toprovide a suitable GUI (e.g., GUI 210) within which the respectivewebsite may be displayed.

In various examples, the layout may include at least some pages oftwo-dimensional (2D) derivatives of a three-dimensional (3D)representation (model) of a complex system, without any other pages notproduced from such a 3D model. In other examples, the layout may includeat least some pages of 2D derivatives of a 3D model of a complex system,and may also include one or more other pages not produced from such a 3Dmodel. In these examples, the pages of 2D derivatives may include pagesof 2D images depicting part(s) of the complex system, and may haveassociated metadata including information reflecting the 3D geometry ofthe respective part(s) within the coordinate system of the complexsystem. If any are included in the layout, the other page(s) maylikewise depict complex-system part(s), but these other page(s) may haveassociated metadata absent information reflecting the 3D geometry oftheir respective part(s) within the coordinate system of the complexsystem.

In a more particular example, the standard and/or custom links of aportal generated by the front-end system 102 may include a link to pages(document components) of a panoptic visualization document collection.The collection may include a plurality of pages at least some of whichdepict complex-system parts. These and perhaps other pages may haveassociated metadata that, for each of at least some of the depictedcomplex-system parts, includes information reflecting a 3D geometry ofthe respective complex-system part within a complex-system coordinatesystem. The respective link of the portal may be navigable to a panopticarrangement of the pages. The panoptically-arranged pages may include aparticular page depicting the complex-system part on which the barcodeis located, and one or more other pages identified according to theassociated metadata for the particular page. This respective metadatamay further include information identifying a link between theparticular page and respective other page(s).

The panoptic visualization document layout system 400 of exampleimplementations of the present invention may therefore provide anarrangement of pages in a layout according to logical relationshipsbetween the pages, which in one example in the context of a complexsystem such as an aircraft, may reflect spatial, design or functionalrelationships between its parts. The pages may be panoptically arrangedin a manner that reflects the logical relationships, and in variousexamples, spatial, design or functional relationships. The arrangementmay enable a user to see the pages in a single view, and in a mannerthat facilitates a better understanding of relationships that may beotherwise difficult to comprehend. In the context of a complex systemfor example, the arrangement may not only lessen the time required toreview documents containing large amounts of information, but may alsolessen the time required and ease the difficulty studying theinformation to understand the ways in which the complex system and itsparts relate to each other.

For more information regarding a suitable panoptic visualization system400, see U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/751,937, entitled: PanopticVisualization of Elements of a Complex System using a Model Viewer, U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/751,994, entitled: Panoptic Visualizationof Elements of a Complex System using Localization of a Point on aPhysical Instance of the Complex System, and U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/752,060, entitled: Panoptic Visualization of aThree-Dimensional Representation of a Complex System, all of which filedon Jan. 28, 2013. Additional information may also be found in U.S.patent application Ser. No. 13/414,987, entitled: Panoptic VisualizationDocument Layout, U.S. patent application Ser. No. 13/414,964, entitled:Panoptic Visualization Document Navigation, and U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 13/414,940, entitled: Panoptic Visualization DocumentCollection, all of which filed on Mar. 8, 2012; as well as U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 13/072,217, entitled: Image Management andPresentation, filed on Mar. 25, 2011. The contents of all of theaforementioned are incorporated herein by reference in their entireties.

FIG. 5 illustrates a document database system 500 that in variousexample implementations may correspond to a host system 106. Thedocument database system may be generally configured to create andmanage database(s) of system-related documents (each of which mayinclude one or more pages). As shown, the document database system mayinclude one or more databases 502 and a database management system(DBMS) 504. The database may be structured according to any of a numberof different data models, such as the relational data model in whichcase the database may be referred to as a relational database. Thedatabase may be configured to store system-related documents forcomplex-system parts, and in one example, may include a separatedatabase of system-related documents for each of at least some of theparts. The documents may be stored in records (sometimes referred to asrows or tuples) of one or more tables (sometimes referred to asrelations). The documents may be formatted as any of number of differentdata types in the database, such as numeric, date-and-time, string orthe like. In one example, one or more of the documents may be stored asstrings in the form of binary large objects (BLOBs).

The DBMS 504 may be generally configured to manage the database 502, andin one example in the context of a relational database, the DBMS may bereferred to as a relational database management system (RDBMS). The DBMSmay be configured to control the organization, storage and retrieval ofdata in the database. The DBMS may also be configured to control thesecurity and integrity of the database.

The DBMS 504 may include any of a number of different subsystems (eachan individual system) for performing one or more functions or operationswith respect to the database 502. As shown, for example, the DBMS mayinclude a DBMS engine 510 generally configured to manage data in theDBMS, and data manipulation subsystem 512 generally configured tocontrol adding, changing and deleting data in the database, as well asquerying the database for data.

The data manipulation subsystem 512 may include a query language engine514 that alone or in combination with a data manipulation language (DML)engine, may be configured to receive queries or requests to add, changeand/or delete data in the database 502, and/or query the database fordata. This request may be in the form of one or more query languagestatements, and the query language engine may be configured to translatethe query language statements to a format understandable by the DBMSengine 510. In one example, the query language engine may include aparser and query optimizer. The parser may be configured to separatingor otherwise breaking down the query language statements into basicunits of syntax, and may ensure that the statements follow a number ofsyntax rules. The query optimizer may be configured to examine the querylanguage statements and determine the most efficient manner of theirexecution.

The DBMS engine 510 may be configured to execute the query languagestatements, such as in the manner determined by the query optimizer ofthe query language engine 514. In one example, the DBMS engine mayinclude a transaction manager and file manager. The transaction managermay be configured to enforce permissions and resolve or otherwiseprevent conflicts within the document database management system 500.The file manager may be configured to control input/output operations onthe database 502, depending on the request.

In various instances, the query language engine 514 of the datamanipulation subsystem 512 may receive a retrieval request for data fromthe database 502, such as a request for one or more system-relateddocuments in the database. In one example, the request (e.g., resourcerequest) may be for system-related document(s) for complex-system apart, such as a drawing that graphically depicts the part, a textuallist that textually depicts the part and/or graphical or textualmaintenance task(s) performed on or using the part. The DBS engine 510may receive the request from the query language engine and execute therequest. In one example, the file manager of the DBS engine may beinvoked to retrieve the respective system-related document(s) from thedatabase. The file manager may then be configured to pass thedocument(s) back to the query language engine. The query language enginemay be configured to communicate the document(s), such as to a GUI inwhich the document(s) may be displayed, or a printer for generating aprintout of the document(s).

In various other instances, the query language engine 514 of the datamanipulation subsystem 512 may receive an insertion request to add datato the database 502. In one example, the query language engine mayreceive the insertion request from a front-end system 102 (e.g.,front-end system 200). The request in this example may include asystem-related document. The DBS engine 510 may receive the request fromthe query language engine, and through its file manager, may store thesystem-related document in the database 502. This or a similar processmay also be implemented to change data in the database.

To further illustrate example implementation of the present disclosure,reference will now be made to FIG. 6 and FIGS. 7-9, which depict anexample portal and layout of system-related pages that may be displayedin a GUI that has a predetermined viewable area, and which may benavigated by a user, according to an example implementation of thepresent disclosure. FIG. 6 illustrates a portal 600 for an aircraftpart. The portal identifies the part by name 602 and serial number 604,and includes diagrams 606, 608 that depict the part and its locationwithin the aircraft. The portal also includes links 610 (labels andreferences) to various system-related resources for the part. The linksmay include references to the system-related resources and visibletextual labels that describe the respective resources. In this regard,the portal may also include textual labels 612 that describe othersystem-related resources, but without references to the respectiveresources. In various examples, these labels without references mayreflect resources that do not exist or for which a user does not have anappropriate entitlement to access.

In accordance with example implementations, a user may navigate one ofthe links 610 in the portal 600 to access system-related related pagesfor the part, which in one example, may be panoptically arranged in alayout. FIGS. 7-9 illustrate an example of one suitable layout. Moreparticularly, FIGS. 7-9 illustrate an example of a layout according to ahierarchy layout model displayed in a GUI that has a predeterminedviewable area 700. As shown, a layout according to the hierarchy layoutmodel may include a plurality of pages 702, each of which in one examplemay be a sub-image of the page at a respective resolution. Various onesof the pages may have different resolutions in the layout, with page 704having a higher resolution than pages 706, which in turn have a higherresolution than pages 708, some of which again in turn have a higherresolution than others of which lower in the hierarchy.

The pages may be located and/or sized in the layout according to logicalrelationship(s) between the pages. In the example shown, the pages 702are primarily from 2D derivatives of a 3D model of an aircraft but mayalso include one or more other pages not produced from the 3D model, andmay have object-subject relationships. More particularly, for example,object(s) of a page on a level of the hierarchy may be subject(s) ofpages below it in the hierarchy, the subject(s) in one example beingadditional detail regarding the object(s).

More particularly, for example, page 704 may depict a projection view ofan exterior of the entire aircraft. Pages 706 may depict respective onesof a wing and wing box, tail, fuselage, landing gear, engine, and doorassemblies. In the illustrated example, the pages 706 depicting the wingand wing box, tail, fuselage, engine, and door assemblies may be from 2Dderivatives of the 3D model, while the page 706 depicting the landinggear may not be produced from the 3D model. Pages 708 may depictadditional detail about the part(s) depicted by respective ones of pages706. Each of pages 706 (except that of the landing gear), 708 may depictfour views of a respective part, such as a projection view, front view,top view and side (left or right) view. In the viewable area 700,however, pages 708 (and perhaps even pages 706) may be presented at aresolution that causes their media content to be only partiallyunderstood or not understood at all by a user. Of course, in otherexample implementations, pages 708 may be presented at a sufficientresolution to interpret substantially all of their media content.

The GUI may present one or more selected navigation options fornavigating the layout of pages 702. In this illustrative example, panand zoom navigation options may be presented in the form of controls 710to move and/or increase the size of the pages in the viewable area 700to focus on a portion 712 of the layout. In other words, the user mayactivate the aforementioned controls to move and/or zoom the layout tofill a greater portion of the viewable area of the GUI with a portion ofthe layout. FIG. 8 illustrates one example of the result of navigatingthe layout in this manner.

As shown in FIG. 8, as the user activates controls 710 to focus on theportion 712 of the layout, the size of pages 704-708 may increase which,in one example, may include replacing sub-images of pages 704-706 withcorresponding sub-images at higher resolutions. The resolution of thesub-images may allow the user to interpret substantially all of thepresented media content. In this view, however, pages 708 may not bepresented with sufficient resolution to be interpreted by the user,because the size of the respective pages may not have been increased toa level implicating a next sub-image. That is, even after havingincreased the size of the image, the size may still most closelyapproximate the same sub-image so as to not cause its replacement withthe next sub-image at a higher resolution. In one example in which onlya portion of page 704 is within the viewable area of the GUI, and inwhich the respective page is divided into tiles, only those tilescovering the viewable portion of the respective page may be retrievedand displayed.

In one example, the user may again activate controls 710 to move and/orresize the view to focus on an even smaller portion 802 of the layout,as shown for example in FIG. 9. Similar to before, as the user activatesthe controls 710 to focus on the portion 802 of the layout, the size ofpages 704-708 may increase, which in one example, may now furtherinclude replacing a sub-image of page 708 with a corresponding sub-imageat a higher resolution.

Example implementations of the present disclosure may find use in avariety of potential applications, particularly in the transportationindustry, including for example, aerospace, marine and automotiveapplications. One suitable application is in the context of supportingmanufacturing, maintenance and service, and/or lifecycle tracking of acomplex system such as an aircraft and its parts. Referring now to FIG.10, example implementations may be used in the context of an aircraftmanufacturing and service method 1000 including a number of processeseach of which may be performed or carried out by a system integrator,third party and/or operator.

As shown in FIG. 10, during pre-production, the example method mayinclude specification and design 1002 of the aircraft, manufacturingsequence and processing planning 1004 and material procurement 1006.During production, part manufacturing 1008 and system integration 1010of the aircraft takes place. Thereafter, during post-production, theaircraft may go through certification and delivery 1012 in order to beplaced in service 1014. At a number of instances while in service by acustomer (also post-production), the aircraft may undergo maintenance(e.g., routine maintenance, line maintenance) or service 1016 (which mayalso include modification, reconfiguration, refurbishment or the like).

In various examples, the disclosed system and method may be utilizedduring any one or more of the processes of the example method. Duringpre-production (e.g., material procurement 1006), production (e.g., partmanufacturing 1008, system integration 1010) and/or post-production(e.g., certification and delivery 1012, in service 1014, maintenance orservice 1016), for example, barcodes including barcode-encoded links tosystem-related resources for respective aircraft parts may be generatedand applied to the respective parts, alone or perhaps as part of alabel. The system-related resources may include production managementsystems, and/or technical records such as design records, manufacturingrecords, receiving records, installation instructions and records,rework records, testing records and the like. The system-relatedresources may be hosted by one or more resource host system(s) 106 suchas a panoptic visualization document layout system, document databasesystem or the like. Any part may include one or more barcodes each ofwhich may be generated and applied by a system integrator, third partyor operator.

The system-related resources for various aircraft parts may beaccessible from a front-end system 102, such as for consultation duringproduction (e.g., part manufacturing 1008, system integration 1010) ofthe aircraft. In some examples, the front-end system may be implementedby a portable electronic device. At least some of the resource hostsystem(s) 106 may be remotely-accessible from the front-end system, andin some examples, one or more of the resource host system(s) may belocal, co-located with the front-end system, such as through the sameportable electronic device implementation.

A barcode on a part may be located and scanned, and its links may bedecoded and displayed in a GUI, such as in an appropriate portal. Thelinks may include standard links, and perhaps other, custom links (localto the front-end system or retrieved from a link management system 104).Navigation of one or more of the links may then be affected through theGUI to access respective system-related resource(s) for the part. Thesystem-related resources for various parts may be accessed, as desiredor otherwise required, during production (part manufacturing 1008,system integration 1010), and/or post-production such as duringcertification and delivery 1012, while the aircraft is in service 1014,and/or during maintenance or service 1016 of the aircraft.

In one example, the disclosed system and method may be utilized duringmaintenance or service 1016 of the aircraft. In one example, thetechnical records for a part may include maintenance records, repairrecords and the like, which may be accessed and updated consistent withmaintenance or service activities performed on the aircraft.

In various examples, the disclosed system and method may be utilized toaccess system-related resources to enable determination of anavailability of a replacement or spare part, or suitable substitutepart, which may expedite maintenance or service 1016 of the aircraft. Inthis example, the portal may include a standard or custom link to anAIPC, which may provide information regarding substitute(s) for aparticular part. The portal may also include standard or custom links tosystems such as part information systems, spare-part management systems,part supplier systems and the like. These systems may provideinformation regarding the availability of a replacement or spare part,or suitable substitute part.

As explained, system-related resources for various parts may be accessedthrough manufacturing and service 1000 of an aircraft. But in someexamples, various system-related resources for a part may be accessedduring and even after removal of the part from the aircraft on which thepart is installed for at least some period of time. In one example, theportal for a serialized part generated by the front-end system mayinclude one or more user-interface control through which an indicationof removal of the part may be received, and which may link to anappropriate maintenance system through which one or more technicalrecords for the part or aircraft are updateable.

Some system-related resources may more generally be accessiblethroughout the lifecycle of a part, which may include ownership andhandling by a number of parties such as system integrators, thirdparties and/or operators. This may be particularly beneficial to accessand enable an update to technical records for serialized parts, whichmay follow respective parts throughout their lifecycle. As indicatedabove, these records may include, for example, design records,manufacturing records, receiving records, installation instructions andrecords, rework records, testing records, maintenance records, repairrecords and the like. In one example, records such as maintenancerecords and/or repair records may be accessed and updated throughout thelifecycle of a part. In the particular context of aircraft, this mayfacilitate compliance with FAA requirements such as its Aging AircraftSafety Rule (AASR).

The systems and methods embodied herein may therefore be employed duringany one or more of the stages of the example production and servicemethod 1000. For example, system implementations, method implementationsor a combination thereof may be utilized during the production stages1008 and 1010, and/or certification and delivery 1012. Similarly, forexample, system implementations, method implementations or a combinationthereof may be utilized while the aircraft is in service 1014 and/orduring maintenance and service 1016. This may in turn substantiallyexpedite assembly of or reduce the cost of an aircraft and/or itsmaintenance and service.

According to example implementations of the present disclosure, theresource-access system 100 and its subsystems including the front-endsystem 102, link management system 104 and/or resource host system(s)106 may be implemented by various means. Similarly, the examples of afront-end system 200, link management system 300, panoptic visualizationdocument layout system 400 (resource host system) and document databasesystem 500 (resource host system), including each of their respectiveelements, may be implemented by various means according to exampleimplementations. Means for implementing the systems, subsystems andtheir respective elements may include hardware, alone or under directionof one or more computer program code instructions, program instructionsor executable computer-readable program code instructions from acomputer-readable storage medium.

In one example, one or more apparatuses may be provided that areconfigured to function as or otherwise implement the systems, subsystemsand respective elements shown and described herein. In examplesinvolving more than one apparatus, the respective apparatuses may beconnected to or otherwise in communication with one another in a numberof different manners, such as directly or indirectly via a wireline orwireless network or the like.

Generally, an apparatus of exemplary implementations of the presentdisclosure may comprise, include or be embodied in one or more fixed orportable, hardware-based electronic devices. Examples of suitableelectronic devices include a smartphone, tablet computer, laptopcomputer, desktop computer, workstation computer, server computer or thelike. The apparatus may include one or more of each of a number ofcomponents such as, for example, a processor (e.g., processor unit)connected to a memory (e.g., storage device).

The processor is generally any piece of hardware that is capable ofprocessing information such as, for example, data, computer-readableprogram code, instructions or the like (generally “computer programs,”e.g., software, firmware, etc.), and/or other suitable electronicinformation. More particularly, for example, the processor may beconfigured to execute computer programs, which may be stored onboard theprocessor or otherwise stored in the memory (of the same or anotherapparatus). The processor may be a number of processors, amulti-processor core or some other type of processor, depending on theparticular implementation. Further, the processor may be implementedusing a number of heterogeneous processor systems in which a mainprocessor is present with one or more secondary processors on a singlechip. As another illustrative example, the processor may be a symmetricmulti-processor system containing multiple processors of the same type.In yet another example, the processor may be embodied as or otherwiseinclude one or more application-specific integrated circuits (ASICs),field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) or the like. Thus, although theprocessor may be capable of executing a computer program to perform oneor more functions, the processor of various examples may be capable ofperforming one or more functions without the aid of a computer program.

The memory is generally any piece of hardware that is capable of storinginformation such as, for example, data, computer programs and/or othersuitable information either on a temporary basis and/or a permanentbasis. The memory may include volatile and/or non-volatile memory, andmay be fixed or removable. Examples of suitable memory include randomaccess memory (RAM), read-only memory (ROM), a hard drive, a flashmemory, a thumb drive, a removable computer diskette, an optical disk, amagnetic tape or some combination of the above. Optical disks mayinclude compact disk-read only memory (CD-ROM), compact disk-read/write(CD-R/W), DVD or the like. In various instances, the memory may bereferred to as a computer-readable storage medium which, as anon-transitory device capable of storing information, may bedistinguishable from computer-readable transmission media such aselectronic transitory signals capable of carrying information from onelocation to another. Computer-readable medium as described herein maygenerally refer to a computer-readable storage medium orcomputer-readable transmission medium.

In addition to the memory, the processor may also be connected to one ormore interfaces for displaying, transmitting and/or receivinginformation. The interfaces may include a communications interface(e.g., communications unit) and/or one or more user interfaces. Thecommunications interface may be configured to transmit and/or receiveinformation, such as to and/or from other apparatus(es), network(s) orthe like. The communications interface may be configured to transmitand/or receive information by physical (wireline) and/or wirelesscommunications links. Examples of suitable communication interfacesinclude a network interface controller (NIC), wireless NIC (WNIC) or thelike.

The user interfaces may include a display and/or one or more user inputinterfaces (e.g., input/output unit). The display may be configured topresent or otherwise display information to a user, suitable examples ofwhich include a liquid crystal display (LCD), light-emitting diodedisplay (LED), plasma display panel (PDP) or the like. The user inputinterfaces may be wireline or wireless, and may be configured to receiveinformation from a user into the apparatus, such as for processing,storage and/or display. Suitable examples of user input interfacesinclude a microphone, image or video capture device, keyboard or keypad,joystick, touch-sensitive surface (separate from or integrated into atouchscreen), biometric sensor or the like. The user interfaces mayfurther include one or more interfaces for communicating withperipherals such as printers, scanners or the like.

As indicated above, program code instructions may be stored in memory,and executed by a processor, to implement functions of the systems,subsystems and their respective elements described herein. As will beappreciated, any suitable program code instructions may be loaded onto acomputer or other programmable apparatus from a computer-readablestorage medium to produce a particular machine, such that the particularmachine becomes a means for implementing the functions specified herein.These program code instructions may also be stored in acomputer-readable storage medium that can direct a computer, a processoror other programmable apparatus to function in a particular manner tothereby generate a particular machine or particular article ofmanufacture. The instructions stored in the computer-readable storagemedium may produce an article of manufacture, where the article ofmanufacture becomes a means for implementing functions described herein.The program code instructions may be retrieved from a computer-readablestorage medium and loaded into a computer, processor or otherprogrammable apparatus to configure the computer, processor or otherprogrammable apparatus to execute operations to be performed on or bythe computer, processor or other programmable apparatus.

Retrieval, loading and execution of the program code instructions may beperformed sequentially such that one instruction is retrieved, loadedand executed at a time. In some example implementations, retrieval,loading and/or execution may be performed in parallel such that multipleinstructions are retrieved, loaded, and/or executed together. Executionof the program code instructions may produce a computer-implementedprocess such that the instructions executed by the computer, processoror other programmable apparatus provide operations for implementingfunctions described herein.

Execution of instructions by a processor, or storage of instructions ina computer-readable storage medium, supports combinations of operationsfor performing the specified functions. It will also be understood thatone or more functions, and combinations of functions, may be implementedby special purpose hardware-based computer systems and/or processorswhich perform the specified functions, or combinations of specialpurpose hardware and program code instructions.

As explained above, example implementations of the present disclosureprovide an efficient, inexpensive and time saving system and method foraccessing system-related resources for a complex system and its parts.Example implementations may also provide a panoptic arrangement ofvarious system-related documents, which may allow a user tosimultaneously and quickly view and visually search a large number ofpages. In instances in which a user may generally have an idea of theappearance of page(s) of interest, or have an idea of a logicalrelationship between the respective page(s) and other pages, a panopticarrangement of pages may allow the user to locate and use page(s) ofinterest. The user may view pages as though they were laid out in thephysical world without the physical space requirement involved withlarge collections of pages.

Many modifications and other implementations of the disclosure set forthherein will come to mind to one skilled in the art to which thisdisclosure pertains having the benefit of the teachings presented in theforegoing descriptions and the associated drawings. Therefore, it is tobe understood that the disclosure is not to be limited to the specificimplementations disclosed and that modifications and otherimplementations are intended to be included within the scope of theappended claims. Moreover, although the foregoing descriptions and theassociated drawings describe example implementations in the context ofcertain example combinations of elements and/or functions, it should beappreciated that different combinations of elements and/or functions maybe provided by alternative implementations without departing from thescope of the appended claims. In this regard, for example, differentcombinations of elements and/or functions than those explicitlydescribed above are also contemplated as may be set forth in some of theappended claims. Although specific terms are employed herein, they areused in a generic and descriptive sense only and not for purposes oflimitation.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for access to electronic resources forlifecycle tracking of complex-system parts, the system comprising: abarcode scanner configured to scan a barcode applied to a part of acomplex system, the barcode encoding a plurality of links to respectivesystem-related resources for the part, the system-related resourcesincluding at least one of software-based systems or electronicdocuments, the barcode scanner being configured to decode the pluralityof links from the barcode, wherein the plurality of links encoded by thebarcode are standard links; and a front-end engine configured toretrieve other, custom links to system-related resources for thecomplex-system part, the custom links being distinct from the standardlinks encoded by the barcode, the front-end engine being configured togenerate and cause display of a portal in a graphical user interface,the portal including the plurality of links decoded from the barcode,the portal identifying the complex-system part, and including bothstandard links and custom links, the front-end engine being configuredto affect navigation of at least one of the plurality of links throughthe portal to access a respective at least one of the system-relatedresources for the respective part, wherein the portal further includes auser interface control through which an indication of removal of thepart is receivable, the indication being of removal of the part from thecomplex system on which the part is installed for at least some periodof time, the user interface control linking to a software-basedmaintenance system through which one or more technical records for thepart are updateable, and wherein the barcode scanner is configured toscan the barcode and decode the plurality of links, and the front-endengine is configured to generate and cause display of the portalincluding the plurality of links, and affect navigation of at least oneof the plurality of links, at one or more instances during a lifecycleof the part.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the barcode scanner isconfigured to scan the barcode generated and applied to the part duringpre-production, production or post-production of the complex system. 3.The system of claim 1, wherein the system-related resources include atleast one of a design record, manufacturing record, receiving record,installation instructions and record, rework record or testing record,and wherein the barcode scanner is configured to scan the barcode anddecode the plurality of links, and the front-end engine is configured togenerate and cause display of the portal including the plurality oflinks, and affect navigation of at least one of the plurality of links,during production of the complex system.
 4. The system of claim 1,wherein the system-related resources include at least one of amaintenance record or repair record, wherein the barcode scanner isconfigured to scan the barcode and decode the plurality of links, andthe front-end engine is configured to generate and cause display of theportal including the plurality of links, and affect navigation of atleast one of the plurality of links, during maintenance or service ofthe complex system, and wherein the front-end engine is configured toaffect navigation of at least one of the plurality of links to accessand enable an update to the at least one of the maintenance record orrepair record consistent with maintenance and service activitiesperformed on the complex system.
 5. The system of claim 1, wherein thesystem-related resources include at least one of an illustrated partscatalog, part information system, spare-part management system or partsupplier system, wherein the barcode scanner is configured to scan thebarcode and decode the plurality of links, and the front-end engine isconfigured to generate and cause display of the portal including theplurality of links, and affect navigation of at least one of theplurality of links, during maintenance or service of the complex system,and wherein the front-end engine is configured to affect navigation ofat least one of the plurality of links to enable determination of anavailability of a replacement or spare part, or a suitable substitutepart, for the part to which the barcode is applied.
 6. The system ofclaim 1, wherein the system-related resources include at least one of amaintenance record or repair record for the part, wherein the barcodescanner is configured to scan the barcode and decode the plurality oflinks, and the front-end engine is configured to generate and causedisplay of the portal including the plurality of links, and affectnavigation of at least one of the plurality of links, after removal ofthe part from the complex system on which the part is installed for atleast some period of time, and wherein the front-end engine isconfigured to affect navigation of at least one of the plurality oflinks to access and enable an update to the at least one of themaintenance record or repair record consistent with maintenance andservice activities performed on the part after removal of the part fromthe complex system.
 7. A method comprising: locating a barcode appliedto a part of a complex system, the barcode encoding a plurality of linksto respective system-related resources for the part, the system-relatedresources including at least one of software-based systems or electronicdocuments; and at one or more instances during a lifecycle of the part,scanning the barcode, and decoding the plurality of links from thebarcode, wherein the plurality of links encoded by the barcode arestandard links; retrieving other, custom links to system-relatedresources for the complex-system part, the custom links being distinctfrom the standard links encoded by the barcode; generating anddisplaying a portal in a graphical user interface, the portal includingthe plurality of links decoded from the barcode, the portal identifyingthe complex-system part, and including both standard links and customlinks; and affecting navigation of at least one of the plurality oflinks through the portal to access a respective at least one of thesystem-related resources for the respective part, wherein the portalfurther includes a user interface control through which an indication ofremoval of the part is receivable, the indication being of removal ofthe part from the complex system on which the part is installed for atleast some period of time, the user interface control linking to asoftware-based maintenance system through which one or more technicalrecords for the part are updateable.
 8. The method of claim 7 furthercomprising: generating and applying the barcode to the part duringpre-production, production or post-production of the complex system. 9.The method of claim 7, wherein the system-related resources include atleast one of a design record, manufacturing record, receiving record,installation instructions and record, rework record or testing record,and wherein scanning the barcode, decoding the plurality of links,generating and displaying the portal including plurality of links, andaffecting navigation of at least one of the plurality of links, occurduring production of the complex system.
 10. The method of claim 7,wherein the system-related resources include at least one of amaintenance record or repair record, wherein scanning the barcode,decoding the plurality of links, generating and displaying the portalincluding the plurality of links, and affecting navigation of at leastone of the plurality of links, occur during maintenance or service ofthe complex system, and wherein affecting navigation of at least one ofthe plurality of links includes affecting navigation of at least one ofthe plurality of links to access and enable an update to the at leastone of the maintenance record or repair record consistent withmaintenance and service activities performed on the complex system. 11.The method of claim 7, wherein the system-related resources include atleast one of an illustrated parts catalog, part information system,spare-part management system or part supplier system, wherein scanningthe barcode, decoding the plurality of links, generating and displayingthe portal including the plurality of links, and affecting navigation ofat least one of the plurality of links, occur during maintenance orservice of the complex system, and wherein affecting navigation of atleast one of the plurality of links includes affecting navigation of atleast one of the plurality of links to enable determination of anavailability of a replacement or spare part, or a suitable substitutepart, for the part to which the barcode is applied.
 12. The method ofclaim 7, wherein the system-related resources include at least one of amaintenance record or repair record for the part, wherein scanning thebarcode, decoding the plurality of links, generating and displaying theportal including the plurality of links, and affecting navigation of atleast one of the plurality of links, occur after removal of the partfrom the complex system on which the part is installed for at least someperiod of time, and wherein affecting navigation of at least one of theplurality of links includes affecting navigation of at least one of theplurality of links to access and enable an update to the at least one ofthe maintenance record or repair record consistent with maintenance andservice activities performed on the part after removal of the part fromthe complex system.
 13. A computer-readable storage medium that isnon-transitory and has computer-readable program code portions storedtherein that, in response to execution by a processor, cause anapparatus to at least: decode a plurality of links from a barcodeapplied to a part of a complex system, the barcode encoding theplurality of links to respective system-related resources for the part,the system-related resources including at least one of software-basedsystems or electronic documents, wherein the plurality of links encodedby the barcode are standard links; retrieve other, custom links tosystem-related resources for the complex-system part, the custom linksbeing distinct from the standard links encoded by the barcode; generateand display a portal in a graphical user interface, the portal includingthe plurality of links decoded from the barcode, the portal identifyingthe complex-system part, and including both standard links and customlinks; and affect navigation of at least one of the plurality of linksthrough the portal to access a respective at least one of thesystem-related resources for the respective part, wherein the portalfurther includes a user interface control through which an indication ofremoval of the part is receivable, the indication being of removal ofthe part from the complex system on which the part is installed for atleast some period of time, the user interface control linking to asoftware-based maintenance system through which one or more technicalrecords for the part are updateable, and wherein the apparatus is causedto decode the plurality of links, generate and display the portalincluding the plurality of links, and affect navigation of at least oneof the plurality of links, at one or more instances during a lifecycleof the part.
 14. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13,wherein the apparatus is caused to decode the plurality of links fromthe barcode generated and applied to the part during pre-production,production or post-production of the complex system.
 15. Thecomputer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the system-relatedresources include at least one of a design record, manufacturing record,receiving record, installation instructions and record, rework record ortesting record, and wherein the apparatus is caused to decode theplurality of links, generate and display the portal including theplurality of links and affect navigation of at least one of theplurality of links, during production of the complex system.
 16. Thecomputer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein the system-relatedresources include at least one of a maintenance record or repair record,wherein the apparatus is caused to decode the plurality of links,generate and display the portal including the plurality of links, andaffect navigation of at least one of the plurality of links, duringmaintenance or service of the complex system, and wherein the apparatusis caused to affect navigation of at least one of the plurality of linksto access and enable an update to the at least one of the maintenancerecord or repair record consistent with maintenance and serviceactivities performed on the complex system.
 17. The computer-readablestorage medium of claim 13, wherein the system-related resources includeat least one of an illustrated parts catalog, part information system,spare-part management system or part supplier system, wherein theapparatus is caused to decode the plurality of links, generate anddisplay the portal including the plurality of links, and affectnavigation of at least one of the plurality of links, during maintenanceor service of the complex system, and wherein the apparatus is caused toaffect navigation of at least one of the plurality of links to enabledetermination of an availability of a replacement or spare part, or asuitable substitute part, for the part to which the barcode is applied.18. The computer-readable storage medium of claim 13, wherein thesystem-related resources include at least one of a maintenance record orrepair record for the part, wherein the apparatus is caused to decodethe plurality of links, generate and display the portal including theplurality of links, and affect navigation of at least one of theplurality of links, after removal of the part from the complex system onwhich the part is installed for at least some period of time, andwherein the apparatus is caused to affect navigation of at least one ofthe plurality of links to access and enable an update to the at leastone of the maintenance record or repair record consistent withmaintenance and service activities performed on the part after removalof the part from the complex system.